The intention of some governments to ban the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles in the coming decades as part of their emission reduction policies could create major problems for the motorcycle manufacturers. The European Commission, in its environmental plan “Fit for 55”, has proposed to ban the sale of new combustion cars starting from 2035: the proposal does not include motorcycles, but it is likely that, if accepted, it will do so in the future. The UK, on the other hand, has explicitly said that by 2035, motorcycles with internal combustion engines will no longer be able to be sold.
As a Politico article recently explained, this is a serious problem for motorcycle manufacturers: even if electric vehicles are one of the sectors in which more is being invested in recent years to combat climate change, the major developments technologies have been made in the automotive industry. For motorcycles, on the other hand, the major innovations concerned city scooters, while the sector of more powerful motorcycles, suitable for traveling long distances, is still quite behind: in fact, and contrary to what happens with cars, it is a lot difficult to find electric substitutes for large displacement motorcycles, unless you have to submit to important compromises.
This backwardness could be “a disaster” for motorcyclists, and could lead to “the death of motorcycling as a hobby,” a representative of the German Motorcyclists' Association told Politico.
The European Commission's ambitious package of proposals for reforms against climate change foresees, among other things, that by 2030 the states of the Union will reduce their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 55 percent compared to 1990 levels. and that they reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
Among the proposals of the package, called “Fit for 55”, one of the most ambitious is precisely the ban on the sale of new petrol or diesel cars from 2035.
For now they are only proposals and before they become effective they will have to address the probable opposition of many member countries and interest groups who may try to dilute or postpone the plan. In Italy, the Minister for Ecological Transition, Roberto Cingolani, expressed some concerns in this regard. Cingolani's fears concern the very tight deadlines dictated by the European Commission and the fact that the plan will cover the entire automotive sector, with no exemptions for sports cars, such as Ferrari and Maserati, which are important for the Italian industry.
The package does not mention motorcycles directly, but it is plausible, writes Politico, that these will also be included by then. However, they are included in the projects of other countries, such as the United Kingdom, and already in several European cities some types of motorcycles are subject to driving bans.
In short, the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 is a topic that will affect the entire motorcycle sector, which will have to think about new electric models to put on the market: unfortunately, however, electrifying a motorcycle is incredibly more difficult and complex than electrifying a 'car.
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Compared to cars, the main problem of making electric motorcycles is space and weight: for vehicles such as motorcycles, often designed to travel long distances, unlike city scooters, there is a need for high-capacity batteries. To ensure sufficient autonomy, the batteries end up being very bulky and can weigh more than 100 kg, and consequently affect the maneuverability of the vehicle.
Ralph Mayer, professor of vehicle systems design at Chemnitz University of Technology in Germany, told Politico that to solve the problem of bulk and weight in the near future, “progress could be made, but nothing major. revolutionary “, and that in terms of maneuverability of motorcycles, lithium-ion batteries” will not be able to reach the levels offered by liquid fuels “.
Another problem that currently limits the production of electric motorcycles is the lack of columns where you can quickly recharge your vehicle, which are often located far from city streets and in many cases can only be used by cars.
Then there is a cultural question, more subtle and less evident than the technical problems. For many people who drive cars, switching to electric vehicles does not create a big inconvenience, while for many passionate motorcyclists the combustion engine is a fundamental part of their love for motorcycles: even the sound of the engine for many is something indispensable. , which is part of the experience of riding a motorcycle.
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At the moment, however, the large motorcycle companies that are seriously investing in electric motors are few, and the main technological solutions have been proposed by small companies or startups.
One of the few exceptions is Harley-Davidson, a historic US company specializing in the production of cruisers and choppers, large motorcycles used mainly for long journeys. Already in 2014 he presented his first electric motorcycle prototype, which went into production in 2019. It's called LiveWire, it has a power of 150 horsepower, a lithium-ion battery and a range of 225 km in the city and 142 km in journeys alternating city streets and highways.
Harley-Davidson's uniqueness is even more evident when you look at what other major global companies are doing. The Italian Ducati, for example, has no plans for the production of electric motorcycles, and development is currently limited to the sports department: starting from the 2023 season it will in fact be the sole official supplier of motorcycles for the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup, the electric class of the MotoGP World Championship.
As for the four big Japanese motorcycle companies (Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha and Kawasaki), for now they do not have electric motorcycles in production, although they have announced that they are working to build them in the coming years. For this reason, last March they signed an agreement to jointly produce the batteries for the electric motorcycles of the future, in order to adopt a standard charging system and interchangeable batteries for all four brands.
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